On November 9, a joint meeting of Santa Barbara's Staff Hearing Officer and Architectural Board of Review took up the plan to tear down the Macy's at La Cumbre Plaza. The project would put 680 rental homes on the site. Macy's is still open, and its store page lists November events at 3805 State Street. At the other end of the mall, the former Sears building is now Furniture Gallery by Mattress Mike, according to Noozhawk, and a separate 443-unit proposal for that site is working its way through City review.
Both housing projects sit on the mall's two ends, and the interior is a different piece of real estate on a much longer clock. Anyone who shops or eats at State and Hope will see most of the change at the edges: Hope Avenue, the north parking fields and the former Sears building. Bristol Farms, Lure Fish House and Mendocino Farms sit away from those edges.
One Shopping Center, Three Different Clocks
The Macy's project includes a Tentative Subdivision Map that would split the current 14.9-acre legal lot in two. The new development would get an 8.8-acre parcel on the north end. According to the City, the existing shopping center would stay on the other parcel and "could be redeveloped in the future." The November 9 agenda puts that remaining parcel at 6.1 acres.
"Could be redeveloped" isn't a plan, and the leases point the other way. Noozhawk reported in April 2025 that the buildings in the middle of the center will keep operating through at least 2077. That covers the shops, restaurants, gyms and art galleries.
| Piece of the center | What's proposed | Who's behind it | Timing as reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| North end, former Macy's site, 3805 State St. and 110 S. Hope Ave. | 680 rental units in six buildings, plus shops, a restaurant, plazas and a park | Owner MCP Santa Barbara LLC; applicant Flowers & Associates | Construction follows the Macy's lease, which runs to 2028 |
| South end, former Sears site, 3845 State St. | 443 rental units, a leasing and amenities building, and a creekside path | Owner Riviera Dairy Property; developer Kennedy Wilson | Construction not expected before 2028 |
| Interior, the remaining parcel | No proposal | Existing center | Businesses continue through at least 2077 |
The two housing projects are separate applications from separate owners. The City originally pushed for one specific plan covering the whole center. In 2023, a proposal to fund that plan with $1.1 million through the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments was voted down. Noozhawk reported that the plan could have covered up to 2,000 units. Without it, the center is changing one parcel at a time, and that's why the middle can stay as it is while both ends get rebuilt.
Why the Macy's Approval Doesn't Close the Store
Once the City signs off on design, the applicant can apply for building permits. Approval and demolition happen on different schedules, though. Noozhawk's 2025 reporting said construction would wait until the Macy's lease expires in 2028. The same outlet's 2023 report gave 2028 as the year Macy's would leave the plaza.
When the building does come down, it's a real loss for the city. In its November 7 preview, Noozhawk called the store one of Santa Barbara's last department stores.
The approvals aren't final on the day of the hearing. According to the hearing agenda, Staff Hearing Officer decisions can be appealed to the Planning Commission and Architectural Board of Review decisions to the City Council, generally within 10 calendar days. The City's project page for The Neighborhood at State & Hope is where to follow it, and the City lets residents sign up there as interested parties for hearing notices on file PLN2024-00227.
What the North End Would Look Like
The filed plan calls for six buildings, two to six stories tall. Residents would park in two levels underground, and shoppers in two separate ground-level garages for the commercial space. The agenda lists:
- About 27,947 square feet of commercial space
- About 60,916 square feet of open space and plazas
- 42,427 square feet of amenity space
- A single construction phase
The open space is more than twice the commercial square footage. On that 8.8-acre north parcel, most of the ground that isn't apartments would become plazas, paseos and a park instead of more storefronts. The applicant's site describes small local retail spaces, eateries and one restaurant. The architecture draws on the Spanish Colonial Revival of Granada and Sevilla, mixed with the contemporary style of the neighboring buildings. The developers also say the new park and paseos would link directly into the existing mall.
According to Noozhawk, the 680 units break down to 94 studios, 383 one-bedrooms, 186 two-bedrooms and 17 three-bedrooms. Of those, 39 are proposed for very-low-income households and 15 as moderate-income units, and those income-restricted units put the project under State Density Bonus Law.
The Changes That Reach Hope Avenue
This is the part of the plan that touches Hope Avenue drivers well before anyone moves in. The applicant lists these street changes:
- A new dedicated right-turn lane from State Street onto South Hope Avenue
- A new Class 1 bike lane connecting State to Hope
- A new connection between La Cumbre Road and Hope Avenue
- Public pedestrian paseos running through the site
The City's agenda adds sidewalk and walkway improvements and changes to vehicle access. It also says a State Street bus stop would move next to the project parcel.
Traffic at that corner came up again and again in the written comments the City posted before the hearing. Commenters raised congestion and pedestrian safety at State and Hope, freeway access, construction routing, building height and mass, and parking. Other commenters wrote in support of the project's walkable design. The right-turn lane and the La Cumbre Road link are the applicant's answers to the first of those concerns, and both are on Hope Avenue.
The South End Is Further Behind
The Sears-site project is a long way behind. At its November 2025 concept review, the Architectural Board of Review continued the design indefinitely, according to the Santa Barbara Independent. The board asked for architecture more rooted in the local style, courtyards that connect, and a paseo, plus revised story-pole plans. Noozhawk reported that board members called the design institutional-looking and that construction wasn't expected before 2028.
For people who use the plaza, the Sears plan's main contribution is a multi-use path along Arroyo Burro Creek, alongside a 10,000-square-foot leasing and amenities building and resident courtyards. Arroyo Burro Creek is the same creek that reaches the ocean at Arroyo Burro Beach. A creekside path at the south end and a State-to-Hope bike lane at the north end would give the center walking and biking routes on both sides, which it doesn't have today.
What's Running in the Middle Right Now
Leases reported through 2077 cover the stretch that most local errands depend on. The current La Cumbre Plaza directory lists Bristol Farms, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, See's Candies, J. Jill and LensCrafters on the retail side. The food list includes Lure Fish House & Oyster Bar, Backyard Bowls, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panda Express, Starbucks, Wingstop and Mendocino Farms. In its 2023 coverage, Noozhawk also reported that Bristol Farms would stay.
The newest restaurant there is also the newest sign that someone is still investing in the middle of the mall. On June 30, Mendocino Farms opened its 100th location at 3851 State Street, in the space Panera Bread left after closing in 2025, Edhat reported. Edhat also reported that Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks planned to close its La Cumbre location on September 27.
The center also has a lot of tenants that aren't shops. The directory lists the La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts, the Museum of Tibetan Art and Culture, OPERA Santa Barbara, The Grace Fisher Foundation, Jump! City, StarCycle, Solos Pilates, Pinnacle Performance Fitness and Holm Martial Arts. These tenants also drive the center's holiday-season calendar. The mall's event calendar lists:
- November 20: La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts art walk
- December 1: Senior-living seminar
- December 5: Dog adoption and fitness event
- December 18: La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts art walk, alongside Grace Fisher music-program dates that run through mid-December
Over the next two years, the parts of La Cumbre Plaza that can change are the north parking fields, the Macy's building and the former Sears building. The art walks, the gyms, the grocery store and the lunch counters sit on the parcel that stays as it is.
If you own near State and Hope and want to know how the 2028 timeline and the new turn lane and street connection could affect your home's value, Crawford Speier Group can walk you through it. Request a Home Valuation, and we'll include what we're seeing around La Cumbre Plaza and Hope Avenue.
